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The lease on the restaurant was up on Dec. 31, 2017, but the landlord is refusing to renew it, according to the pizzeria's Facebook page.

Community members were saddened to hear that Nov. 30 will be Demarest Pizza's last day in business.

"For over 25% of Demarest’s existence, Steve and the Pizzeria have been a staple of the community," Mark Berberian said. "Steve and Pizza Express/Demarest Pizzeria will always be ingrained into the history of our town.

The longtime pizzaiolo, 49, made Demarest Pizza a local institution for more than three decades. He constantly took up the causes of anyone who needed funding help -- advertising campaigns at his shop, urging people to give what they could.